Brent crude oil rose in choppy trade today as US equity markets pared losses, outweighing concern about Europe's debt crisis.
Brent fell earlier on worries that Greece may default on its debt, but rose with US crude as Wall Street bounced off its lows.
Brent futures rose 26 cents to $113.03 a barrel by 6.04pm, after falling as low as $110.42. US crude rose 80 cents to $88.04.
In early afternoon trade in New York, Brent trade was trailing the 30 day average by 2%, with over 500,000 lots traded. Only 400,000 lots traded for US crude, down nearly 44% from the 30-day average.
Wall Street dipped in volatile trade, but stocks bounced up off lows, lifted by technology stocks when Broadcom Corp agreed to buy NetLogic Microsystems for $3.7 billion.
Worries mounted that Greece may default on its debts after finance ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized economies pledged a joint response to the slowdown but offered nothing specific to help their economies.
The spread between WTI and Brent crude narrowed to below $25 after closing at $25.53 on Friday. The spread hit a record $27.23 on September 6.
